Another Wannabe Miller...

[Woodsurfer]

Hello all! What a fine site you've got going here. I've done plenty of browsing and enjoyed the discussions, etc. I've signed in to get some advice and support on my plan....

I have pretty much made up my mind to get into chainsaw milling. Tired of burning all my beautiful birch and maple...and I build a lot of furniture. My plan is to get a MS460, a 32" bar and ripping chain to mount on an Alaska mill. I figure to order the saw with a 20" bar for felling and bigger cuts. Already have an MS250 for limbing, etc.

I will work mostly in eastern hardwoods (birch, maple, ash, beech, cherry if I'm lucky). Nothing much over 24" diameter. I've searched and read related postings and the saw/mill and wood combo seems reasonable.

Any comments welcome!

Cheers..
Dave

 

[NWCS]

i have done milling on northwest softwoods up to 30" with a brand spankin new stihl 046.. i have some advice for you if you really want a saw this size.. get ready for it to burn up if you do it alot. 046 ran HOT and SLOW while milling. old 084 i rebuilt did wonderful. in hardwoods that wide i would say 066 or larger.. or even the perfect for milling big performance husky 3120. or track down an old 090 and grunt through anything. in milling cubic inch is what matters.. that 046 i used just didnt have the grunt to do it. to mill one 25" wide 27 foot long board it took me one full tank of fuel even a vintage gear drive saw with some very agressive chain would be a good choice.

 

[mackie]

dedcow is right, you definately need a bigger saw. a hva 394 or 2100 would do the trick, but bigger is better, get the biggest saw you can afford.

also, milling with an alaska mill is hard, slow work. i would recommend some kind of track mounted setup.

 

[Lawn Masters]

I'd recommend something like a Stihl 066/660, 088/880, 090, Hva 395, 3120, or 2100, or just about any old geardrive with an 80+ cc engine on it, and .404 chain, only because 1/2" chain is rather uncommon, and kinda expensive. A Mac SP125, or one of the big 797 795, or siimilar model Mac will also do the job quite well. wont be fast, thats a given when milling, but you'lll get a few nice boards from it if you do the job right. I like my Mac 250 for heavy duty cutting for now, till my 17 starts working again.

 

[Woodsurfer]

Many thanks for the replies! Bigger is better...I believe that..

There are a few things that led me to think a mid size could work for me:
I will mill maybe 5 days a year - best bits of 3 or 4 trees. Really small scale, say 20 hours running per year. I don't expect to rip 24" of hardwood with the saw, after I square up my cants, I think most cuts will be through 8-12" wide wood. Hoping a 7 HP saw could make reasonable progress at this level.

Also not sure I would want to "freehand" a bigger saw, it's already a big step up in weight and power for me.

Given my low usage and relatively narrow cuts...is a bigger saw really necessary? How wide a cut could a 460 comfortably make in green hardwood?

 

[rhead]

I mill with an Alaskan .....on a part time basis as you indicate ....I would go for as big a saw as you can afford and get. I use an 090 ......and yes it is heavy etc. ....but once you lift it up on the flat surface for milling ...it is not an issue ....and you will be glad you have it! I tried milling with a smaller saw .....on smaller hardwood ...and believe me it is not fun! RH

 

[Chopwood]

how about the 999 Gypo has for sale, I don't know if he would deal on price. I made a cut at the GTG this winter with it and it is very strong. It is a tank, but if you aren't carrying it, who cares......

 

[shanesaw]

I milled with an 80cc John Deere for awhile and rhead is right its not fun. Theres pics of that in the picture forum under homemade chainsaw mill. I have a Homelite 909 g headed this way that I'll be using asap. Gear drive 112cc's, that should do the trick